Stuck with You, but Not Settling
by Eriru-chan170
Summary: When Harry and Draco learn they are forced to be wed, they put up with it, though they're far from happy. Follow them through this life changing event, and see their most intimate- and awkward- moments in the six months between learning they're being forced to marry, and the ceremony. Rating may change later.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: I don't own the characters, just the idea. I'm not J.K Rowling, I'm not rich, nor am I British.

He laughed, and looked up at her again, grinning. "Ok, really, what? That's outrageous. It could never happen. There's just no way."

Hermione looked at him seriously. "Harry, it's true. You don't have a choice. I'm sorry. It wasn't my decision, so don't blame me."

"I can't have to marry a man. I love Ginny."

Hermione bit her lip. "That's another thing…. Not Ginny specifically, but the man you have to marry."

"Are you really going to insist I go along with this? It's a really bad joke, Hermione."

"It's not a joke, Harry. You have to marry a man, and that man's name is Draco Malfoy!"

Harry was still grinning, but only because he was so shocked. His jaw suddenly went slack as it sank in that no, Hermione wasn't joking. There was no way she could be joking, she couldn't take the joke this far. She would have cracked up by now. He has to marry…. "I have to marry _who?"_

Hermione flinched a little. "I knew you would take it badly, that's why I said I had to do it…. Draco Malfoy, Harry. You have to marry Draco Malfoy. And yes, you will have to take the Malfoy name. You will be Harry James Malfoy, not Harry James Potter. I'm sorry Harry. I really am."

Harry fell back against his chair, dazed. When he had agreed to meet Hermione for lunch, he hadn't been expecting this. How was he supposed to deal with being forced to marry your childhood enemy, even without that enemy being a man?

"I can't do it Hermione…. I just can't do it…."

"Yes you can Harry," she said soothingly.

"Hermione,iIt's Draco bloody Malfoy. How am I supposed to tolerate him, let alone _marry_ him? The man is a total prick!"

"Nice to know that's what you think of your future husband, Potter." Came the cool drawl of Draco Malfoy himself.

"Oh wonderful…." Harry muttered darkly, sulking in his seat. "What do you want, Malfoy?"

"To get this over with. We can get the damn marriage annulled once the ceremony is over you know."

"True…. But what about the press? With me being so damn famous, we'll never be able to keep it a secret."

"So? Who cares? It's just the press. They're a bunch of idiots anyway."

Harry sighed. Malfoy was right, and he hated that. Suddenly, he groaned.

"What?"

"Mrs. Weasley will never leave me alone about this…. She'll demand to plan everything, even if I don't want the damn marriage." His head hit the table, just missing his spoon.

"Oh wonderful…."

"Draco, sit down. We need to talk about this anyway." Hermione gestured to the empty seat between her and Harry.

He sat down in a huff, and glared at the back of Harry's head.

"Harry, sit up."

He complied with her request, and stared at her.

"The two of you have to get married. The thing is, there's also a time requirement, so you'll need to spend a lot of time together publicly if we're going to make this believable."

Draco groaned. "When do we have to get married by?"

"Well, that's the thing…. You have to get married in six months….."

"What?" both men shouted, slamming their hands onto the table.

"Oh forgive me for being the messenger! It's not my fault! Besides, six months is better than three."

Harry huffed, crossing his arms. "You so owe me for this Hermione. I swear you do."

"Fine by me. Just get a damn ring on his finger soon, Draco. We don't have a lot of time."

Draco sighed. "Fine."

*-*-*-*-two weeks later*-*-*-*-*

Unhappily, inside at least, Draco and Harry had been spending nearly everyday together, both in public, and where may not be blatantly public, but where people could easily guess what was going on. Malfoy Manor. Harry was not in the least happy about this last part, but because Draco made a good case against going to Harry's flat, he wasn't going to argue, just grumble about it. They had made it a point to call each other Harry and Draco, rather than Potter and Malfoy, in public at least. Although after three days of it, they slipped into first names naturally. Harry would bring a something to do while he was in Malfoy Manor, and Draco would often be in the library, though Harry was usually with him, just to make it more believable if they had unexpected guests. After the first week passed, they actually started talking when they weren't in public so to speak. They just started with work and the weather, but slowly, they started talking about other things. Two weeks after finding out they discovered they had to be wed, Harry finally worked up the courage to tell Ginny, and it did not go over well.

Harry Flooed to Malfoy Manor in a foul mood, and ended up on the hearth in heap of ash, soot, and broken glasses, much to Draco's amusement.

Harry scowled at him as he brushed himself off and fixed his glasses.

"What's got your knickers in a knot?"

"Ginny."

"Ah."

"Yeah, I just told her about how we have to get married, and she nearly killed me. I swear, she was actually trying to hurt me."

"Astoria was the same way. I told her yesterday. She went ballistic. Thankfully, she's blocked from the Floo now though."

"Good idea."

Draco went back to whatever it was he had been doing when Harry arrived. The scratching of quill on parchment filled the room, the only other noise a clock ticking away the seconds. Harry was soon bored and started looking around the library to ease it. He, surprisingly, found some Muggle novels along with books on magical history, spells, etc.

"I didn't know you read Muggle novels, Draco." Harry said to the blonde.

"After the war, I came to my senses. It's not a big deal."

"Some people would say otherwise. But you're right. It's really not a big deal." Harry looked at the youngest Malfoy, and thought about how he would be forced to go through with this marriage even though they could hardly be called friendly acquaintances. Harry blinked as a sudden realization hit him, and he blushed in embarrassment and shame. "Er, Draco..."

"Yes?"

"Er, I just realized something... rather important..."

"Well, what is it?" He looked up from his letter and saw Harry blushing like crazy, and raised an eyebrow at the raven.

"Er, well, I hadn't quite thought about this before, but, er, obviously I have now, and uh-"

"Spit it out man!"

"I just realized we're going to have to kiss in public..."

Draco stared at him, and saw as the blush darkened and how Harry avoided his eyes- and his lips- and felt a blush creep from his cheeks to his neck, light though it was. He cleared his throat and blinked several times to gather himself. "Well, it was expected to happen eventually, so it shouldn't be a big shock. We'll just have to make it look natural, and not awkward."

Harry blinked, and bit his lip. "So, for it not to be awkward... wouldn't that mean we would have to... have... kissed before...?" Harry's blush was almost as dark as the Weasley's hair.

"Uh, yeah... Yeah, it would..." Draco swallowed nervously.

"We probably should get on that soon... ish since the wedding is in six months..." Harry said, avoiding looking at Draco.

"Yeah..."

Neither moved, just looked around the library as if it was brand new and had never been seen before.

Harry, with his Gryffindor courage forcing him to, stepped toward Draco after several moments of gathering said courage. Draco looked at the shorter man curiously, blushing at the close proximity. They had never been this close before face-to-face. It was different. Draco only just realized that Harry was a few inches shorter than him, about five in fact. And he only just noticed how his hair fell into his eyes, half hiding their emerald hue. And he only just saw how his blush stretched from hair line to below his collar. He finally dared to look directly into the raven's eyes, and saw that he had reached the end of his courage, that Draco would need to make their lips meet.

He bit his lip for a moment, and finally closed the gap, pressing his lips to Harry's.

A/N: And that is chapter 1! I'll be working on chapter 2, which will pick up immediately after this one, and I will hopefully have it posted up tomorrow, but don't count on it lol R&R please!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Ok, I know I didn't update when I sai dI would, but I got super busy, and had a minor case of writers block. lol So here's chapter 2. I explain why they're being forced to marry, and it's kinda weird, but I think for a challenge, it's pretty creative lol Enjoy!

_He bit his lip for a moment, and finally closed the gap, pressing his lips to Harry's..._

Chapter 2

Draco had no idea how to feel about this kiss. Harry's lips were soft, but not feminine the way Astoria's were. The warmth of skin on skin was familiar, but foreign. Without a feminine figure and the curves, it felt strange, and yet… right, somehow. It was strange, but it felt the same inside kissing a man as it did a woman. He pulled back as soon as he realized this, and didn't look at Harry at all. He heard Harry take a deep breath, and chanced a glance at the raven to see him blushing madly, looking at the floor.

"…Well?" Draco asked after a long silence.

"Well what?" asked Harry quickly, eyes wide.

Draco blushed under his gaze, and looked away. "I… Nothing."

"Sorry…. It's just…."

"Awkward?"

"Yeah…."

"I know…." Draco looked at Harry, studying him. He was still blushing, though it was beginning to fade. "…You do realize we'll have to be ok with this in public soon… right?"

"Yeah, I know…."

"I know this is going to sound really strange, but to get that comfortable, we have to be comfortable kissing alone…."

"Yeah…." Harry looked up at him. "This is just really weird…."

Draco nodded, and only just noticed that neither had stepped away from the other.

"Can we just… get this thing over with? So that it's not so awkward later on I mean…." Harry asked, staring at the floor.

"You're going to need to look at me if that's really what you want…" Draco said, pulling the raven's chin up to make him look at the blonde. Harry looked at him, biting his lip, his blush returning.

Draco kissed him again softly, not pressing for anything. He was only trying to coax a response out of the younger man, and his gentility paid off soon. Harry finally started to respond, pressing his lips against the blonde's harder.

This time, Harry pulled back, and Draco was surprised to see only a faint blush across his cheeks.

"It's still awkward, I know. Believe me. But we're going to have to get used to it. It's not like we need to do anything more." Draco couldn't have worded it any better to embarrass the raven, who blushed scarlet at that and stepped back quickly. "Well we won't have to, so it's not a big deal really."

Harry looked away. "I know, just… awkward."

"Look, I know we're not really that close right now, but you know you can tell me whatever. It's not like I can really say anything. I just figure since we're kinda stuck together, we might as well get a little comfortable with each other."

The raven sighed. "I'm just still not used to this. I don't know how to feel about this is all."

Draco nodded in understanding.

.oO0Oo.

Harry took a deep breath and looked over at Hermione as they waited for Draco to arrive for lunch.

"So you're finally going to explain why this all has to happen?" he asked suspiciously.

"Yes, Harry. I'm going to explain, but not here. We'll need to go somewhere more private for that. You understand?"

"Course I do. I don't really want this getting out just yet." Harry ran his hand through his hair nervously and looked around for Draco.

"He'll be here." Hermione told him soothingly. "He's a Malfoy, he'll be on time."

"I know…."

"Thank you for that vote of confidence Harry. I can feel your unconditional faith in me." Draco drawled sarcastically, pulling up a chair at the table.

"Yeah, anyway…." Harry looked away blushing slightly. "Sorry…."

Draco glanced at the raven, then turned to Hermione.

"So when are we going to be informed of why-"

"When we're not in such a public place. After lunch, I promise."

The blonde nodded and glanced through the menu. Soon after, the waitress came to take their orders. Harry and Draco kept glancing at each other, feeling awkward, but not enough to stop.

Hermione leaned forward across the table. "Have you two done _anything_ in public yet? Other than go somewhere I mean."

They looked at each other, and looked away quickly.

"That would be a no." She sighed. "You do know you've only got five months left, right? Step it up. Hold hands or kiss or something. You can't just expect people to believe that you two got married out of the blue for no apparent reason. If you at least pretend to love each other, people will believe it."

Harry blushed furiously, and refused to look at either of his companions. Draco, on the other hand was looking between Harry and Hermione like he hardly knew either of them.

"Well it's true! Besides, you'll need to get used to it eventually. Why not start now?"

Harry muttered something nearly inaudible, but it came out a jumbled mess.

"What was that Harry?" the brunette asked, tucking her hair behind her ear.

The raven blushed. "We've… been working on… that…."

Hermione smiled and nodded knowingly. "So how's that been going?"

"Fine, just fine," said Draco quickly just as the waitress came back with their lunch.

Both young men were blushing brightly and refused to look at the other. After their awkward lunch, the three arrived at Harry's flat not far from the restaurant.

"So, why do we have to get married?" asked Draco as soon as the door was closed.

"Patience, Draco," Hermione told him sitting on the couch and pulling a piece of parchment from her bag.

"I've waited nearly a month, woman-"

"And you can wait a few moments more," Harry said, sitting down next to Hermione.

Draco huffed and sat in the chair next to the couch.

"This is the official report from the Department of Mysteries on you two being married. Well, it's a duplicate, but all the information is here." She handed the parchment to Harry. "Remember in our fifth year we went to the Hall of Prophecies in the Department of Mysteries? Well, there's another prophecy in there regarding you Harry. You and-"

"The prophecy says we need to get married otherwise something bad is going to happen, doesn't it?" asked Harry in a monotone.

"Yes…. I'm sorry. I wasn't told why until a few days ago, I was just told that it needs to happen. I don't work in the Hall of Prophecies. The full prophecy is in the report."

"So you're telling me that if we don't get married in five months, the world will suffer?" asked Draco disbelievingly.

"Yes. Look, I know it's hard to believe, but prophecies are strange. Some only come true because they are heard, and others will be fulfilled no matter what. Most are unimportant, but a few, like this one, need to be fulfilled, but wouldn't be if they hadn't been heard. They're not very common, but they do exist."

"This is bullshit! What the hell? So I need to marry boy wonder here so the world won't end? What about what _I_ want? Maybe I wanted to marry Astoria! Maybe I-"

"Draco! Shut up. I get it. I do. But just read the damned prophecy before I knock you out!" Harry yelled.

Draco took a deep breath and took the parchment from Harry and scanned through until he found the prophecy. As he read, he calmed and became more and more somber. He looked up at Harry and Hermione. "Oh shit…."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Ok, so I know it's been a while since I've updated, but I've been busy moving onto an apartment, so I do have an excuse. I apologize. So this chapter you finally learn why Harry and Draco are being forced to marry! Squee!

_**IMPORTANT! READ THIS BEFORE PROCEEDING!**_ The Weave mentioned in the prophecy is actually a reference to another book series. It's actually from Forgotten Realms. The Weave is what gives power to arcane magic, which is the closest thing to magic in Harry Potter that I can think of, so there. I don't own the Weave, or anything about it. If you want to know more about it I ca tell you, but I won't put it up here for people to get annoyed with me over. Anyway, enjoy!

_Draco took a deep breath and took the parchment from Harry and scanned through until he found the prophecy. As he read, he calmed and became more and more somber. He looked up at Harry and Hermione. "Oh shit…."_

Chapter 3

"You can't be serious about this. That's impossible! And how Harry and I getting married fix it? I don't understand!" Draco threw the parchment on the coffee table, and ran his hands through his hair.

"If you would read the entire report, maybe it would explain it," said Hermione, snatching up the parchment and handing it back to the blonde.

He took it from her and read.

_The full prophecy regarding Mr. Harry Potter and Mr. Draco Malfoy is as follows:_

_ 'Midsummer's Eve, the Art shall be lost forever. The Weave shall be destroyed, and magic will be untamable by witch, wizard, Squib, or Muggle. Powers will be lost, and Nature shall take back what is rightfully hers. Midsummer's Ever shall be the end of all magic. Midsummer's Eve shall see the fall of magic and a return to Nature. Midsummer's Eve shall see the destruction of the wizarding world. Should two bloodlines merge before then, Nature shall show mercy and the Weave shall stay intact. Bloodlines ancient must become one. One tied to the Hallows, the other tied to William I.'_

_As far as the Ministry is aware, Mr. Malfoy is the only living wizard with association with William I, and Mr. Potter is the only living wizard to have the fabled Hallows. The Ministry is adamant that the Hallows do not exist, however, it is known to the Ministry that Mr. Potter is descended from one of the original Hallow owners, Ignatius Peverell. Again, the Ministry is adamant that the Hallows do not exist, though some say otherwise. However, because Mr. Potter is the most likely candidate, it is by Ministry order that Mr. Potter wed Mr. Malfoy for the good of the wizarding world and take the name of Malfoy._

Draco looked up from the parchment after he finished, and stared at Hermione. "And you swear you didn't know why?"

"I had no idea. The only reason I was the one to tell you is because I know both of you and we're on relatively good terms," she explained.

Draco glanced at Harry and saw him with his head in his hands.

"I can't believe that I'm the one who has to save the wizarding world again."

"You're not the only one involved in this ok? Quit the pity party."

"And you weren't the one who was charged with killing Voldemort! Yeah, I wanted him dead, but I was a teenager. You don't do that to a teenager."

"And now we're both twenty three! Deal with it! It's not like I'm asking you to stay faithful to me. I don't want you, and the only reason I'm doing this is because if I don't, we're probably going to die."

"Oh, yeah, cheery isn't it? Being the world's savior?"

"Boys! Stop! At least try to get along? I know you don't want this, and who would? But it has to be done. You're going to have to deal with it whether you like it or not." Hermione glared at Harry, then Draco. "Now if you're quite finished, you have something to sign unfortunately stating that yes, you will go through with the wedding before Midsummer's Eve, and that you will make it look like youo want to be together." She produced another parchment and a quill, and offered it to Harry, who took it, albeit reluctantly. She pointed to where Harry had to sign, and after a moment of staring, he did. Draco signed, and Hermione took the parchment and flicked her wand. The parchment disappeared, off to the Ministry.

"Now, I have to be back at work soon. Why don't you two go do something together? Pretend to be happy with each other at least?"

Draco rolled his eyes, and Harry nodded. Hermione smiled and left. The blonde looked at Harry and raised an eyebrow at him. "So what are we to be doing today to appease her?"

"I dunno." Harry fell back onto the couch and covered his eyes with his arm. "It's a lot to absorb is all. I feel like I need to take a break from this whole thing." Draco was silent. Harry looked at him, lifting his arm to see the blonde. "I don't want to be alone though."

"Yeah, I get it."

"Get what?"

"You just don't want me to go for the appearances." Draco sat down in the chair again.

"No, I don't. I want you to be here because I like talking to you. But if you're going to be like that, just go." He slid his arm down to his stomach, watching Draco warily.

"Like what? What do you mean by that?" Draco demanded angrily.

"I hate it when you get all down like that. It's like you're assuming I don't want to be around you unless I've got an ulterior motive."

"Well what am I supposed to think in this situation?"

The raven sat up. "Look, I know it's weird, this whole thing, but just because I have to marry you, doesn't mean I have to enjoy being with you. And I do. Usually." Draco rolled his eyes. "Look, just because I have to marry you, doesn't mean I have to want to be around you. I could just say screw it and only hang around you when absolutely necessary. I don't have to stay faithful to you, because this isn't truly a relationship. It's more of an obligation. But I won't do that because I'm not that much of a douchebag. Unwanted or not, I'm not going to fuck this up on purpose."

"Well I apologize for not being the girl of your dreams," Draco sneered. "I'm sorry I can't be your precious Ginny, but you've got me whether we like it or not, and you're going to have to deal with it."

"I'm willing to deal with it just stop having such a pity party. I'm not going to just deal with your little mood swings all the time. I know I'm not the perfect example of a lack of mood swings, but I try at least, and…." Harry sighed. "Can we just forget about this? This whole argument?"

Draco glared at him for a moment, then sighed and nodded. "So what are we going to do today?"

"Well, if you're comfortable with it, I was thinking that we would finally go public with this. What do you think?"

As the couple reached The Leaky Cauldron, they took off their scarves and gloves, Draco held the door open for the raven, who blushed appropriately and looked down at the floor as he walked into the pub, though it wasn't an act. He was slightly embarrassed by the entire display, though they hadn't planned that part. Harry looked slightly up at Draco and saw him smirking slightly, which only made the raven blush even more.

"Ah, Mr. Potter! Mr. Malfoy! How nice to see you! What's your poison today?" called Tom from the bar.

"Just butterbeer thank you Tom. How's business been?" asked Harry as he sat down at the bar, Draco following.

"Pretty good considering the snow. Plenty of people want something warm when they're in Diagon Alley. And what about you? Have you been keeping busy?" he asked, handing them their butterbeers.

"Yeah, I've been pretty busy. There's not really anyone for to personally handle, mostly the rookies have been kept busy, but I have to hand out all the assignments for them. Mostly just routine stuff, but there have been a few instances from other departments that have needed our backup." Harry smiled as he finished and took a drink.

Draco smiled at Harry, and the raven blushed of course. Hoping to hide it, he took a swig of butterbeer, and, of course, choked on it. Draco, chuckling, thumped him on the back until he stopped sputtering. "I've been keeping him on his toes when he's not in the office as well." Draco laughed at the expression on Harry's face, one of shock, embarrassment, and mild horror.

"Ah, I heard about you breaking it off with the Weasley lass, Mr. Potter, and you with the Greengrass lady, Mr. Malfoy. What happened there, if it's not too much to ask."

Harry bit his lip and looked away, fighting to keep the tears from pooling. "I… moved on I guess you would say…."

"Nothing wrong with that. The world just thought you were to marry her the way you two were going."

"…I know…." The shame trickled into his voice, and Draco put his hand on Harry's shoulder sympathetically.

"That's pretty much what happened with Astoria and I as well. I moved on." Draco was much cleaner in his act than Harry was, though it was to be expected.

"Excuse me…." Harry got up and walked out into Diagon Alley, and leaned against the wall, knowing that Draco would follow eventually, and he was right.

"Harry… what's wrong?" he asked when he was close.

"I just…. Tom was right. I was going to marry Ginny. I was actually looking for a ring when this whole thing happened…." Harry looked up at the dull grey sky, lightly snowing, and closed his eyes. "I loved her. I still love her…."

"…I know. I know I'm never going to be able to replace her. I know you're never going to be able to love me. Just like you know I'm never going to be able to love you. But… we can't keep dwelling on what we can't have anymore. I've been trying to move on since I broke the news to Astoria, and I can almost stand to hear her name now…."

"That's the thing Draco, I can't move on. She was everything to me."

"I know." The blonde reached out and took his hand. "I know it hurts, but sometimes we need to let go. This is one of those times."

Harry looked at him and gave a wavering smile. "Thank you Draco. I needed that."

"Of course." On an impulse, one that he knew coincided with their plan, he kissed the raven's cheek and led the blushing man back into the pub.

They made small talk with Tom and a few of the other patrons, but they were used to seeing Harry Potter, so most didn't bother them much. When they rose to leave, they paid their tab, and Harry, gathering his courage as quickly as he could, gave Draco a quick kiss. He knew several people had seen judging by the amount of noise and talk. He blushed violently and grabbed Draco's hand and dragged him out of The Leaky Cauldron.

When they reached Harry's flat again, Harry almost fell onto the couch. "Are we sane doing this? I mean, I know we have to, but why do we have to do it this way?"

"It's what the Ministry wants. We kinda have to listen. I know it's embarrassing, trust me I know, but it wasn't as bad I thought it was going to be. Considering everything, it went quite well I think."

"Yeah I suppose so…."


	4. Chapter 4

__The quick update on this is to make up for the long wait for the last one. Sorry about that everyone. I was super busy and everything. Moving is stressful. So anyway, the new chapter obviously. :) Enjoy!

_"It's what the Ministry wants. We kinda have to listen. I know it's embarrassing, trust me I know, but it wasn't as bad I thought it was going to be. Considering everything, it went quite well I think."_

"_Yeah I suppose so…."_

Chapter 4

The press was going wild with the single kiss shared between Harry and Draco. The Prophet was constantly banging on Harry's door, to the point where he was forced to set up minor wards to keep them away. Malfoy Manor already had the wards and protections to keep the press away, and so Harry was often at Malfoy Manor to avoid the difficulties of going through the Ministry for the permits for the wards. Draco, of course was fine with this, partially because they needed to keep up appearances, and partially because he genuinely enjoyed Harry's company. Harry was fine with the arrangement, and, though he was slightly uncomfortable spending 90% of his waking hours with Draco for the world to see, he knew it was obligatory. Well, and for saving both of them a big headache.

What was truly horrible for both young men was dealing with the reactions of their ex-girlfriends. The day the article appeared in the Daily Prophet, Ginny stormed to Harry's flat, and demanded an explanation. Threatened to go to the press with what he had told her.

"Ginny, look, the Ministry wants it to be this way. I can't just not listen to them. It's bigger than just you and me and Draco, all right?" he explained to her exasperatedly.

"How is it bigger than that? So the Ministry doesn't want us to be together? Big-"

"No, Ginny, that's not it! Look, talk to Hermione. She's the one who would know if we can tell you more than what you already know. It's so much bigger than what you know. It's another 'I have to save the world' things, all right? It's not my bloody fault, but I don't have any idea how much I can tell you! I had to wait as long as I did, not just because I didn't want to, it's not like I wanted it to be true, but because I had to wait to be told that it would be ok!" Harry ran his hand through his hair in frustration.

Ginny stared at him for a long moment then turned and left without a word.

Harry pressed his forehead to the doorframe as he watched her walk away, wanting to be able to go after her, but unable to by his obligation to the Ministry, and to the world….

Nearly falling out of the fireplace, Harry crashed into Draco and they hit the floor in an unceremonious heap of tangled robes and flailing limbs.

"Ugh! Harry! Merlin, get off of me! You still can't even use the Floo properly? You're twenty three!" Draco opened his eyes and his breath caught in his throat. Harry's face was maybe three inches from his own, and both blushed fiercely, scrambling to untangle themselves as quickly as possible.

"Well," the raven cleared his throat loudly, "Ginny read the article."

"Of course she did…" said Draco darkly. "Astoria did as well. Very pleasant woman when she's angry that one."

"Probably about as pleasant as Ginny when she's angry." Harry shook his head to clear it. "That's not the reason I'm here though. The Ministry sent me an owl, addressed to both of us. Why they would send it to my flat and not Malfoy Manor is beyond me. Everyone knows we've pretty much always been here. Anyway, it's an invitation to something or other. I really don't want to go, but I figured you ought to know about it."

"Ah, yes, about that Harry, my family has been going to this ball ever since it was started, and every Malfoy who has gone, has always had a partner for dancing and the like, and well… I promised my mother I would go in her stead. She's too busy to attend."

"So I'm going to have to go anyway…. Wonderful. Another reason for the world to think I'm crazy." Harry went and sat on the couch nearby and pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes.

"Well, since we were both invited, we can also bring one guest each," Draco told him.

"Wonderful! Hermione will just have to deal with it!" Harry looked up at Draco. "You're all right with that of course?"

"Why wouldn't I be? She's tolerable at her worst these days." Draco shrugged.

"You haven't seen her at her worst yet, Draco, so don't count on it." Harry smiled at him. "Anyway, so what's this ball for anyway?"

"Well, let me see the invitation to make sure I'm thinking of the right ball." The invitation changed hands, and after a moment, Draco nodded. "Well, it won't be held until May second, so it's in honor of all those lost in your defeat of Voldemort and in celebration of him being gone for five years."

"Wonderful. I won't make a speech or anything. I refuse."

"I won't make you. The only thing is, I think that if we aren't… er… engaged… by then…." Draco looked off to the side, trailing off awkwardly.

"Oh Merlin…." Harry buried his face in his hands in embarrassment. "I'd really rather not have that public…."

"I know…. I would rather not have it public either, but if we haven't done it before then, we'll have to. Midsummer's Eve is, what? June twenty third, right? Somewhere around there. So May second is the latest we can reasonably be engaged. Timing is everything with this."

"My only hope is that we can keep the wedding relatively small. I don't want to make a big deal out of this."

Draco nodded. "We'll be compromising on that, because Malfoy's don't do anything small. We'll keep it personal though. We won't need too many people there."

"Fair enough."

Over the next few days, Draco and Harry spent out in public getting everyone used to the idea of them being together. They went to several restaurants and to a few shops to look for the dress robes they would need for the ball in May, even though it was still late January. Draco insisted that they needed to get them early so that they could be fitted and perfect for the ball. He, of course, knew from experience as he went to many balls as a Malfoy. Harry took his word for it, and didn't question it, just grudgingly followed him from shop to shop, though the shopping was spread out over all of the days they went out.

The whole time, they shared a few chaste kisses that meant nothing to them, but they made sure to act as though they did. The faint blushes and shy smiles that no one could know were an act but them. Holding hands as though they never wanted to let go, laughing together over nothing, and acting like two people in love. And every evening when they said goodbye in full view of the public, Harry felt a burning shame in his stomach as he kissed the blonde man he was to marry in a few months' time. Every time he wrapped his arms around Draco's neck to press their lips together, he could think of nothing but how he wished he didn't have to do this, and how much he wished it were Ginny he was kissing. And nearly every evening, he would fire call Hermione and ask her to come over for a few minutes, and he usually ended up crying over a glass of firewhiskey. He never told Draco that this was what he was doing once the door to his flat closed, and he was never asked.

February came, and halfway through the month, Draco finally brought up something to Harry that he had wanted to avoid.

"Harry, everyone thinks we've been going out for how long now?" he asked.

"Just over a month now I think." Harry looked up from the book he was reading in the library of Malfoy Manor to gaze at Draco.

"Well, I think that… to move our apparent relationship along, you should… stay one night at the Manor. I'm not saying tonight. You'll have your own room and bed and bathroom and everything, but just for-"

"I understand. Yeah, I…. As much as I was hoping to avoid this, it's honestly a good idea. I really just didn't want to bring it up…." Harry said uncomfortably, shifting his gaze from Draco to the floor.

"Bit of an awkward subject, I know." Draco smiled at him. "So when do you want to do that? As I said, it doesn't have to be tonight, whenever you're comfortable with the idea, but it would be best in the next week or so."

"Night after tomorrow? I've got dinner with the Weasley's. They told me that if you want to come, you're perfectly welcome. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley are willing to put the past in the past, and they've made it clear to everyone else that if they're going to make trouble, they won't be welcome should you be there."

"If you're sure I won't be intruding, then yes." Draco smiled, but Harry could tell it was slightly forced.

"Draco, they're like my family, yes, but if you're not ready to put the past with them behind you yet, they'll understand. I'll understand."

"It needs to get done, and so it shall be done. I'll go with you tomorrow evening for dinner," Draco told him firmly.

The raven haired man smiled. "I'll let them know then. I should be going soon anyway, so I can drop by the Burrow before going home."

"Of course. Feel free to come back any time tomorrow."

Harry nodded as he slid a bookmark in to mark his place, and stood, stretching. "I usually head over to the Burrow right after work, but I'll come over so you don't have to go alone."

"Thank you. So I'll see you after work then?"

"Yeah." Harry smiled at him as he set the book on the desk that Draco was sitting at doing something or other. Harry had never asked, and Draco had never said.

"Good night then Draco."

The blonde smiled as he stood as well, walking with Harry to the fireplace. "Good night."

Glittery powder hit he fire, and was suddenly emerald, and Harry, after speaking his destination, stepped into the fireplace and vanished.


	5. Chapter 5

Stuck with You, but Not Settling Chapter 5

A/N: Ok, I'm still moving, so updates will be sporadic, but I will be trying. I usually type up an entire chapter in one, maybe two days, and usually update that same day. I have been under a lot of stress because of my move, however, and it has resulted in a case of I-don't-want-to-write-so-I'll-just-screw-around-on-facebook-or-whatever. I'm also working on getting a Dungeon's and Dragon's campaign going, so I'm busy with that too, plus my boyfriend keeps pestering me to work on my character for the next campaign, so I'm up to my ears in work. Meep! So, in light of me starting college in two weeks and all of this that's going on already, I will try very hard to update as much as possible between now and when I start school, because I tested into the Honors Writing class, so I'm going to have essays up the ass! It's going to be horrible! I will still try to update during the semester, but please cut me some slack. Real life gets in the way of so many good things. So please enjoy this chapter, and I will update at least twice more before the semester starts!

_Glittery powder hit he fire, and was suddenly emerald, and Harry, after speaking his destination, stepped into the fireplace and vanished…._

Chapter 5

Just as Harry promised, right after work, he Flooed to Malfoy Manor so Draco wouldn't arrive alone at the Burrow. He dusted himself off after climbing to his feet and looked only to see that Draco was nowhere to be found. "Draco?" he called loudly, wondering where the blonde was. He stepped out into the hallway that he knew led to the rest of the Manor. "Draco, where are you?"

He heard a muffled curse and a thump from down the hall, and he went to investigate, hand gripping his wand. He heard another curse from the other side of one of the doors, which he assumed to be Draco's bedroom and he relaxed, knocking on the door. "Draco, what's wrong?"

The door opened to reveal the blonde in the middle of his bed with what seemed to be half his wardrobe strewn across the room.

"You can't figure out what to wear?"

His answer was silence.

"It's a casual dinner. The only reason I'm going in this is because I just left work. Just throw on jeans and a T-shirt."

"Malfoy's don't dress like that Harry."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Then just throw on some casual robes. It's not a big deal."

Draco looked at him like he was crazy, then sighed. "I can't believe I'm so worried about what I look like for dinner at the Weasley's…."

Harry shrugged and stepped fully into the room, careful not to tread on the clothes on the floor. "If my robes would fit you, I would say just borrow mine, but I'm shorter than you, and I'm not very good with spells like that." Harry saw a set of robes that didn't look too fancy and picked them up. They were a clean grey that seemed to have faint shades of blue or possibly green, Harry couldn't tell. They were nice robes, but they weren't clearly fancy, and Harry had a feeling that if he didn't throw something at him, he was just going to sulk. "What about these? Or black. Black is nice."

Draco looked at the robes skeptically. "I think black."

Harry shrugged, indifferent and dropped them where he found them, then went searching for a black set of robes not made of silk. When he found a set, he threw them at Draco. "There. Now dress. I'll be waiting by the fireplace. And please hurry." The raven left the room, closing the door behind him and not ten minutes later, Draco emerged wearing the black robes looking quite nice.

"Is this ok?" he asked, revealing his nervousness by asking.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Yes, it's fine. Are you ready?"

Draco nodded, composing himself.

"I'll go first, so you won't have to be there alone." He threw the glittering powder into the fireplace, and, stepping in, said, clearly, "The Burrow!" and was whisked away. A long moment later, Draco followed.

When Draco stepped out of the fireplace, he was greeted by Harry's smile. He couldn't help but smile back, blushing slightly. Hermione came into the living room and found the two young men there and she flung her arms around Harry, and after a moment, gave Draco a warm smile. "Mrs. Weasley! Harry and Draco are both here!" she called, walking into the kitchen again to help with the table.

Draco tensed up, and Harry saw it. "Just relax. It'll be fine. The Weasley's trust me, and I trust you, so by extension, they trust you. Just give it a little time." Harry smiled and, for their act, took Draco's hand, pulling him away from the fireplace, toward the kitchen.

"Harry dear it's wonderful to see you!" Mrs. Weasley told him, hugging him tightly. "You're still so thin. Do you eat at all, dear?"

The raven laughed, letting Draco's hand go to hug her in return. "I eat plenty Mrs. Weasley. I promise."

"You're eating extra tonight." She told him sternly, pointing her wand at him. "You're eating plenty tonight, too, Draco. You're too thin!"

"Mum! Where did the silverware go?" called a feminine voice from the kitchen.

"It's already been put out!" Mrs. Weasley yelled back.

Harry winced slightly at the sound of Ginny's voice, but hid the hurt well.

"Harry! Come here! We've got something we need you to settle! Bring Draco!" called Ron from the table.

"Go on dears, dinner needs to be finished." Mrs. Weasley patted both of them on the shoulder and bustled back to the kitchen.

Harry nudged Draco and smiled knowingly, walking into the kitchen after Mrs. Weasley, the blonde following close behind. "Yeah, what do I need to settle for you?"

"Are you really serious?"

"About what?" asked Harry, confused.

"About him!" said George, nodding his head at Draco.

"We know how the Prophet lies about you," explained Ron.

"I tried to tell them, Harry," Hermione said, smiling at them sympathetically.

"Yeah, I am serious about Draco. What's the problem? Why would he be here if I wasn't?" Harry asked, blushing a little.

"Well, it's just, you were so serious about Ginny, and then…. I mean, we all thought you were going to marry her is all," said George.

Harry closed his eyes to make himself let it go. He couldn't be with her, end of story. It wasn't his fault. He felt a hand on his arm, and looked to see Draco smiling at him sympathetically. He smiled back, taking his hand, and turned back to Ron and George. "I'm serious about Draco. I know it's weird. It is what it is. If you don't like it, then oh well."

"We're fine with it, we were just wondering about what happened is all." George smiled at them. "Although now I'm wondering…." George said mischievously.

"Wondering what?" asked Harry warily.

"How long have you known?"

"Known what?"

"That you were a pouf!"

"I'm not a pouf!" Harry blushed darkly, looking away.

"Sure looks like it."

"Well, I'm not."

"Then what are you?"

"He's Harry. Nothing more, nothing less," cut in Draco coolly.

Hermione looked at him curiously for a moment, sitting back thinking.

Dinner was ready soon after, and everyone helped get the food on the table, and once they dug in, Draco realized that Mrs. Weasley was a better cook than the Hogwarts house elves. He immediately made it clear that he sincerely appreciated being welcome in their home, and that the food was delicious. Mrs. Weasley brushed it off smiling. Draco was pulled into a discussion with Mr. Weasley, Ron, Percy, and George about Quidditch, while Harry was talking to Bill and Charlie, who was visiting from Romania, about work. Fleur, Mrs. Weasley, and Ginny were speaking in low tones, and Ginny kept shooting glances over at Harry and Draco, which Draco couldn't help but notice. He nudged Harry, whom he was sitting next to, and nodded in their direction, making sure Harry noticed Ginny's negative attention. The raven nodded slightly, and continued his chat with the two eldest Weasley brothers. After dinner was cleared away, they settled down before dessert was served. The talk was generally more casual, and, though Ginny was still shooting Harry and Draco dark looks, she never said anything, and they never called her out.

When dessert was nearly over, Mrs. Weasley decided to get down to a serious talk.

"Harry dear, you know that you'll always be welcome here no matter what. We… well, we all were wondering, though, why the sudden change?" She wasn't trying to start anything. Harry could tell that right away. She was just concerned about him and her only daughter.

"I know. I… I guess it was just… a change of heart…." Harry fell silent, knowing that if he continued speaking, he would get choked up and break down, begging Ginny to forgive him. Draco, sensing his distress, took his hand and squeezed it. Harry looked up and smiled at him.

"If I may?" asked Draco, and when no one objected, he continued. "Harry has been very forgiving of me since the war. I really don't deserve it, but it's done. I don't pretend to understand everything about him, because I never will. But I think that this is hard enough for him without people asking about it, whether they meant to start anything or not, it's not easy to deal with when he's questioning his decision himself."

Mrs. Weasley stared at Draco like he was an entirely different person, understanding perfectly what he was saying, and that he wasn't being disrespectful in the slightest. He was merely concerned for Harry's sake, and she knew what that was like. After a moment, she nodded and smiled at the blonde, realizing that this is what was best for Harry, whether he knew it yet or not.

Ginny, on the other hand, left. She wasn't going to put up with Draco defending her love, and no one thought it was inappropriate, because they all knew Ginny's temper.

As night fell, Harry and Draco left the Burrow, satisfied with how the evening had gone, and gladly fell asleep for the night. Both felt that Ginny's reaction was for the best, though Harry felt it was rather unfortunate, seeing as they were deceiving the family, and that was probably why she had been so upset. The Ministry, however, felt that no one should know about the prophecy unless it was absolutely necessary, and they felt that Ginny knowing was not necessary. And so she remained in the dark as to why Harry and Draco were being forced to marry, perhaps for the better.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: So here's chapter 6, I know it's been a loooooong time, but I haven't had internet access for a while, plus I've been busy with college and all, so yeah…. Plus, I had a whole bunch of stuff to do, so hahaha…. Anyway, sorry about the long wait. It was unfortuanate but necessary, especially since in the middle of the chapter I hit a horrible wall of writer's block. Cuz most of this fanfic has been awkward situations, and it's funny and kinda charming, but I'm tired of writing awkward scenes, so it's like, uhhhh what now? Anyone else get that way sometimes? Just sick of writing one kind of thing? Anyway, I'm done. Thanks for putting up with my rant. Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 6

_And so she remained in the dark as to why Harry and Draco were being forced to marry, perhaps for the better…._

Harry woke up the next morning dreading that evening and what the press would say about it. He couldn't believe he was actually going through with it. In a way, it was the strangest thing he had done yet. He had the day off, so he took his time getting ready for the day. He and Draco had agreed to meet for lunch at a restaurant in London, near Diagon Alley, and he still had three hours until he had to leave. Draco had said the place was a Muggle trend, so he dressed accordingly in jeans and a nice shirt. He knew Draco wouldn't appreciate him dressing too casually when he was with him.

After attempting to tame his hair for half an hour and failing miserably, Harry left for the restaurant, and arrived five minutes early. Upon opening the doors, he saw that the restaurant was actually a fairly casual café and bar. The lights were low, giving it a cozy feel and the bar and chairs were made of cherry wood, making it darker, but warm and welcoming. Soon after arriving, Draco opened the door and looked around for Harry, and walked toward him once he spotted the raven.

"Hey. Did you order anything yet?" asked Draco, sitting down across from him.

"No, I haven't been here that long. So how are you?" Harry asked, opening the menu to see what they had to eat, but not taking his eyes off the blonde just yet.

"I'm fine. I'm glad that I got meeting the Weasley's out of the way. I was worried it wouldn't go well."

Harry smiled at him. "I understand, they can be quite… intimidating." He chuckled quietly. "I've been there for so long, they think of me as their own. I don't really understand it, but I appreciate it. And I really appreciate you at least trying to forget about your past with them. It really means a lot to me."

Draco shrugged it off easily. "We need to convince everyone we're in love. It was the logical choice to be made. And they actually weren't terrible."

Harry smiled knowing that Draco had actually had a nice time last night. After lunch, Draco, once again, dragged him through a few shops to see about dress robes for the ball in May. They finally found a set that was 'acceptable' for Harry, according to Draco anyway. They got the measurements they needed and would pick them up the next day. Draco still had yet to find a set of robes as far as Harry was aware, not that he minded. He just hoped that he wouldn't have to go through the torture of going and searching for the perfect set of robes for Draco. He liked the man, but shopping was not his thing at all.

After shopping, Harry was unsure of what they would be doing, Draco never told him. And so they ended up walking in the garden in awkward silence, interrupted only by the babble of a small stream and the chirping of birds back early from winter. Snow was still on the ground, but the chill was leaving, and quickly as it was the middle of February. Many of the taller plants in the garden were bare, but the Malfoys had made sure that there would be flowers in bloom year-round, and the garden was still full of life, though it was more subdued than in spring and summer.

After a few long minutes, Harry finally gained the courage to speak. "I've never been in the garden before. It's nice. A bit too organized for me, but nice."

Draco smiled. "Well, I'll take that back-handed compliment." He laughed a little.

Harry blushed. "I didn't mean it-"

"I know. You like more casual settings. I know. It's fine. I take it as a compliment. Really I do." Draco patted his shoulder smiling.

The raven smiled at the gesture. He knew that his and Draco's tastes were quite different, and he was fine with that, he knew that Draco was used to the finer things in life, and Harry couldn't really begrudge him for it. It wasn't really his fault.

Staring into the blonde's eyes, Harry suddenly was struck with the urge to kiss him, and he promptly looked away, blushing and embarrassed. He was unsure of what he was supposed to do, and he realized that they had stopped walking. He looked up and found that Draco was looking at him intensely. Biting his lip, his eyes flicked from Draco's gaze to the blonde's lips. Failing to gather the courage, he pulled away and started walking toward the Manor.

Draco watched him walk away for a moment before following him back and washing up for dinner, which was eaten in silence. After dinner, Draco showed Harry the guest room he would be staying in that night. Harry nodded as he entered the room. He had decided not to bring a change of clothes so that it would be more believable that they had 'finally' had sex. He still felt weird deceiving the world, but it needed to be done. He turned to see Draco leaning against the doorframe, and half smiled.

"Thank you…."

"For what?" asked the blonde.

"The room, understanding…." Harry ran a hand through his hair. "For putting everything on the line for this."

"I don't really have a choice with that last bit, so don't be thanking me." Draco waved it off, not wanting or needing his thanks.

Harry was unsure of what he was supposed to do at this point. It was far too early to go to bed, but the entire situation was so awkward, he wasn't totally comfortable with being alone with Draco. He hated that he had to do this. He didn't really want to marry the man. And to make it worse, he couldn't even keep the name Potter.

Draco suddenly brightened. "I have an idea. I know a club down in London with a fantastic bartender. Very pretty too. She can make just about anything you could ever want. And the music isn't half bad either. What do you say?"

Harry stared at him for a moment, bewildered at the request. "Er, yeah, sure." It would mean he wouldn't have to be alone with Draco. At least not completely alone with him anyway.

"All right then, let's go."

"What you're not going to complain about my clothes for once?" Harry asked teasingly as he brushed past him to the hallway, looking back and grinning at him.

"You're presentable for where we're going." Draco smiled, winking at him, making Harry stop and stare at the blonde as he passed him.

The next morning Harry woke and, for a moment, couldn't remember for the life of him where he was. He had a pounding headache and couldn't remember when he got back the night before. After looking around the room for a moment, though, he realized he was at Malfoy Manor, and relaxed. Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes and pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes to try to stop the pounding in his head.

There was a knock at the door and Draco came into the room with a potion in his hand. "Here, you'll want this," he told him tossing the vial onto the bed between his legs and sitting at the end.

He snatched the vial up and downed it quickly, wanting the headache to be gone. After a moment, it was indeed gone. "Thanks."

"No problem." Draco smiled at him "So you're prepared for the press reaction, right? I mean, we made it seem convincing enough outside the manor with the club."

"Yeah, I'm still a bit nervous about it though." Harry ran a hand through his hair.

"That makes two of us."

"What time is it? Six?"

"Six thirty. Work is at seven, right?"

Harry nodded and flung off the sheets, padding away to get ready for everyone asking where he was and why he was in Muggle clothes. He rubbed cold water down his face, hoping it would wake him up. Draco followed him after a few moments, and handed him his glasses. "Bed head is so much worse when your hair is a mess in the first place," he told the raven, chuckling a little.

Harry grumbled a bit and tried to flatten his hair for a few long moments, then gave up. Nothing was going to make it behave. A lot of it was sticking out in just about every direction possible, and was pretty knotted. Harry pulled his clothes on, and after a moment realized that Draco was in the room looking at him with an expression he had never seen on the blonde before. "What?"

"I just… never saw that scar before. What's it from?"

Harry looked down and remembered the scar on his chest from the locket, and looked away. "Something of Voldemort's…. I went to Godric's Hollow and Voldemort was there and Slytherin's locket burned into my skin. Hermione had to cut it off…."

Draco was silent. "I'm sorry about everything I did to help him-"

"You didn't give me away here. That makes up for it. Ron, Hermione and I would have died if you hadn't done what you did. Luna and Ollivander too. He whole world honestly would have suffered if you hadn't. We were lucky that you were brave enough to do what you did. Thank you."

"Yeah, but then at Hogwarts-"

"I told you, it makes up for it. Just forget about it, Draco, please."

After a long moment, the blonde nodded. "Breakfast is on the table, if you want it." He left the room, the door still opened wide behind him, and Harry stared after him for a few seconds before following him.

"I think it would be a good idea if I dropped by your office during lunch. To keep up the whole charade and all." Draco was calm now, but his voice was cooler than Harry had heard in a long time, but he knew his efforts would be wasted to get him to talk about it.

"All right, about 12:30 then?"

The blonde nodded as Harry sat down and served himself some eggs bacon and pumpkin juice. Breakfast was eaten in silence, the chill from Draco's attitude permeating the room. Harry decided that it would be best to leave with barely enough time to get to his office just to make it a bit more believable.

So at exactly 6:57 a.m., Harry Flooed to the Ministry and made a mad dash for his office in the Auror Department. He reached it at 7:02.

"Harry? Why are you in Muggle clothes?" asked a bewildered new recruit.

Harry blushed scarlet. "It's not your job to ask questions, get back to work." He muttered and slumped into his chair, his head on his arms. The back of his neck was almost glowing red.

"Hey, Harry!" called a familiar voice. He looked over his shoulder and saw Hermione and groaned internally. "Why… Oh… Nice touch. Bet you had fun last night."

"Please don't Hermione. What do you want?" He really didn't want to deal with the embarrassment anymore.

"Just delivering some reports that you need to look at. The Department of Mysteries is doing some things that may need some clean up in the next few weeks. Sorry about that." She smiled apologetically at him.

Harry sighed heavily. "Can't you keep your experiments under wraps these days? Come on. I've got to keep Aurors going left, right, up, down and sideways! Between you and Mr. Weasley's Department, we're up to our ears." He signed the papers anyway. "So I hope that things haven't been too weird down there. I remember some of the things from fifth year."

Hermione laughed, taking the papers back. "You know I'm not allowed to talk about it Harry. Besides, if you really need to know, the Head of Department will talk to you." Harry rolled his eyes at her. "So what _actually_ happened last night if it's not too much to ask."

"We went to a club in downtown London, had a few drinks, and went back to the Manor." Harry shrugged it off, but he was blushing again.

"I meant all of yesterday. I know you had the day off."

"We went to lunch, went shopping unfortunately, walked through the garden, had dinner, went out and came back. That's really it." Hermione raised her eyebrows at him skeptically. "…Well, there was a weird moment in the garden. I wasn't really sure what I was supposed to do. It was really weird."

Hermione gave him a knowing look and a wink and left him sitting bewildered.

The rest of the morning, no one asked questions, but Harry could feel the funny looks boring into the back of his neck, and blushed brightly whenever he felt it. When Harry's lunch finally rolled around, he felt like his face would never cool down. Unfortunately for him, the worst was yet to come.

At 12:34, Draco walked into the office, and everyone stared at him as they went about their business. Draco, for his part, only blushed slightly, and had the wherewithal to act a little shy as he walked to Harry's office. As the blonde approached the office, Harry was just walking out, ushering Ron out in front of him. Harry froze when he saw the man standing outside his office.

"Draco. I-I didn't… expect you to be here…." He stammered, running a hand through his hair nervously, blushing like crazy.

"Well, what did you think I would do when you just disappeared this morning?" Draco asked, running his gaze up and down Harry's clothes.

"Well um, I-I… needed to… get… to work…." Harry looked away, somehow his blush deepening. "I… didn't want t-to… wake you…." His voice faded with every word, and Ron mumbled something uncomfortably and walked off, a light blush on his face.

Draco's gaze softened and he smiled at the raven. "I brought you lunch. It's just leftovers from last night."

"Thanks." Harry kissed the blonde on the cheek and beckoned for him to come into his office, which did have a door, though it was rarely shut. This was one of the few times it was closed. "Really, though, thanks. I'm starving." He dug in for a few long moments, Draco watching amused. "Thanks for picking up on that out there. I really appreciate it."

"It wasn't that hard to catch it." Draco chuckled. "So how's work been?"

"Hermione came up to have me sign some papers for the Department of Mysteries, and I've been getting emergency after emergency to send someone or other out on. It's been a real pain in the arse." Harry took a few more quick bites.

"Sounds like it. Has anyone given you grief?" he asked, looking around at the office. The photos on the wall, which were mostly of Harry, Ron and Hermione at various points, were all, of course, magical. There was one though, that caught Draco's attention. It was of Lily and James Potter. It had to be, because the redhead was definitely not Ginny; she had exactly the same eyes as Harry, and the man looked almost exactly like the raven. "You're parents look good together," he told him, turning his gaze back.

"… Thanks…. You know, my mum and Severus were good friends when they were young. He was the one who told her she was a witch."

"Really? I didn't know that."

Harry nodded. "They were very close even though they were in different Houses."

Draco came around the desk and put his hand on the raven's shoulder. He turned around to face the blonde, and looked up at him sadly. "In a way, I wish that we had gotten along better when we were younger. You're nowhere near as bad as I thought you would be."

He rolled his eyes. "Thanks," he said sarcastically, then he sighed. "No, I know what you mean. I honestly thought you'd be just as foolish sometimes."

Harry smiled at him, and Draco leaned down and kissed him for a long moment, and when their lips parted, he told Harry that he ought to go, and he agreed. Both stood and Harry walked Draco out to the lifts, where they shared another kiss.

Going back to his office, everyone stared, and the bright blush reappeared. Reaching the door, he turned around. "Don't you have anything better to do than stare at me?" he demanded and closed the door behind him and finished his lunch.

A/N: Whew. That took me a while to get written. I'm soooo sorry for the lateness! I've been busy with college and moving out and stuff. I'm settled better now, so things should be more consistent, but no promises. I hope you liked it!


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